E038 John Donn MORGAN, Air Mechanic (E) 2nd Class L/FX593072, HMS Goldfinch. Died 5th April 1946 aged 20 years. Son of Nicol and Jessie Morgan, of Inverkeithing, Fife. He was part of a crew in a Wellington bomber from RAF Hal Far which crashed in a built-up area of St Publius Street, Rabat, Malta at about 11.15am.
Extract from https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=174234
The crew was completing a training sortie, simulating an aerial attack with a RAF Spitfire. While cruising at a height between 4,000 and 5,000 feet, the aircraft banked 20° to the left then dove into the ground and crashed in the center of the city. The aircraft exploded on impact and damages on ground were so heavy with several houses destroyed. All four crew members were killed plus 16 people on the ground. Several others were injured, some of them seriously.
Cause: The loss of control was attributed to strong smoke spread in the cockpit due to a leak on a hydraulic line, intoxicating the crew that was unable to maintain a directional control of the aircraft and could not send any distress call.
At rest in Capuccini (Kalkara) Naval Cemetery, Malta Plot E Grave 38
We are a non commercial community interested only in the discussion of all things military.
We do not sell or authorise the use of images hosted on our servers, if you wish to purchase or use imagery contact the uploader directly.(you will need to register). Any requests received to purchase or use imagery will be ignored. Thank you and welcome to MI.Net
You have been here as a guest for a while, I guess we are doing something right?
Register as a member and join in the discussions, its completely free and we would welcome your contributions.
All the best admin - MI.Net
We value your privacy
We use essential cookies to make this site work, and optional cookies to enhance your experience.